Formed in Poland in 2009, Black Metal band CIEN ("shadow" in Polish) present their third full-length album here titled "Redemption." The album contains six tracks. "The Hour of Justice" leads off the album. It opens with clean guitars and some melancholy tones. Then the hateful tones roll in. The vocals are done in a couple different methods...gut-wrenching screams and lower gutturals. The tones here are sad, depressing and full of despair. It ends on clean tones where hope is lost.

"Lethargy" opens with the vile sound in your face. The vocals sound like they are coming from a man who has been kept away for years, locked in a dungeon, and tortured endlessly. The machine-based drumming occupies the background at times with pummeling tones. It slows at the half-way mark, with clean guitars and a bit of spoken words. The ending is both powerful and solemn at the same time. "Liberation Bliss" begins with softer tones and whispers. It picks up to more rhythmic guitars and that same tortured voice. The riff changes slightly at the half-way point to a more commanding sound, and it ends with thumping bass notes and vocal pleas.

The title track begins with slow, horrid tones in the vocals, and more tortured utterances. The music is sterile, reflecting the feelings of nothingness by the band. It picks up a bit around the half-way mark, as the torture is prolonged. "Widow Horizon" begins with more energy and a powerful, stalwart riff that could crush you into dust. Ashgan pleads over and over for his life, or for an ounce of him returned to the world of the living. Again, it slows at the half-way point, with some more spoken words. It ends on more pleas and a horribly depressing sound.

"Virtues of Death" closes the album. It begins with a slow, lumbering pace and some audible bass notes. I daresay the music borders on some jovial tones here, but the vocals are just the opposite. As it moves forward, it becomes even more horrid, if that is possible. The screams continue as Ashgan pleads for death at this point. The misery and torture is beyond comprehensible, and that is all that there is left to do. It ends on a final scream as the victim passes into the underworld. This album was a gut-wrenching experience that could level even the most stable person out there. If you believe in philosophy, we are talking about total nihilism here. Don't listen to this album if you are already in a tough spot, because it will only make things worse.